James Herrington – 50th Reunion Essay

James Herrington

PO Box 2442

Wailuku, HI 96793-7442

herrington.james@yahoo.com

Spouse(s): Wife: Arje (Dotillos) Mangubat Herrington (2000-03); Partner: Merly Amilin Abetria Capisen (2009–present)

Child(ren): Son: James Hideo Herrington (1985)

Education: University of California Berkeley, BA Mathematics, 1972

Career: General Manager of California farm development corporation and later of oilfield production and development corporation. Accounting and Finance for Hawaii hotel developer, property management corporations and the County of Maui

Avocations: Scuba diving, tropical islands, travel, Buddhism, personal development and the state of the world

College: Timothy Dwight

I attended Yale for only the freshman year. After some trials and tribulation, I graduated from University of California Berkeley with a degree in mathematics. I was not a good student after high school.

After graduation I managed a California subsidiary farm development corporation owned by my father and his partner. In 1975 the partners decided to split. I sold the appropriate properties and my house and traveled as a passenger on a Lykes Line freighter, nonstop, from Galveston to Cape Town. I have not bought another house.

The goal was to travel from Cape to Cairo in 90 days. In fact, it took 18 months to reach Nairobi with long stays in South Africa, South West Africa and Rhodesia, among other countries.

While born in Olympia, Washington, I lived in Canton Island and Fiji from 5 to 17 years old. Tropical Africa, and Seychelles, in particular, reminded me of “home” and all that I missed, by living in “white man’s world,” California in particular. Meeting a Hawaii resident in Rhodesia suggested a compromise between making a living and living a desired life.

I moved to Hawaii in 1977 but was convinced to give the oil business in Montana and Kentucky a try. In 1982 I returned to Hawaii and have lived there ever since, with long visits to South East Asia. Moving from California to Hawaii required a large step down in standard of living but not perceived quality of life. I have never regretted it.

My son was born in Honolulu, attended kindergarten through high school in Maui and college in Massachusetts. Working for the Department of Finance, County of Maui allowed that and a modest pension. Work has seldom interested me.

My life, in retirement, is simple, with few possessions but a lot of variety. I scuba dive, walk, hike in tropical forests, ride bicycles and small motor bikes and spend a lot of time with friends in several tropical countries. I enjoy the wonderful food, diving and Buddhist temples in Thailand, the Angkor ruins and traditional people of Cambodia, the temples and public transportation in Japan, and the islands, forests and diving in Hawaii, Philippines and Myanmar. Then I visit family in California, which reminds me of the life I don’t miss.

I read mostly nonfiction and find biology, life, geography and people most interesting. Being able to explore our incredible living planet is the greatest gift.

Living a high life, with lots of things, did not make me happy. I do miss the sailing and skiing. I feel most comfortable being near people who look and live nothing like me, while speaking languages I don’t understand. That is probably a quirk of my upbringing.

I feel I have been a slow learner in life skills. It seems I had to discover what did not please me, rather slowly, before I could see what really interested me. Meditation helped, although I am not skilled or diligent at it.

Retirement has been the best time of life!